There are many articles of manufacture in which a polymeric part is joined to another part. For example, it is sometimes desired to attach a plastic liner, strip, or panel to a stamped metal panel. In that situation, the polymeric component and the metal panel are positioned or assembled in surface-to-surface contact and an attachment or joining operation is performed.
Mechanical fasteners are often used in such a joining process. This requires an inventory of the fasteners and their handling in the attachment operation. In other applications, adhesives have been used to attach the polymer part(s) to metal surfaces. But adhesive bonding requires application of an adhesive formulation and setting or bonding of the applied adhesive material to make the bond. For many such polymer-to-metal assemblies, the cost and processing complexity of mechanical or adhesive attachment is preferred or can be tolerated. But simpler and less expensive attachment methods could enable other product applications in which a polymeric part is joined to a second workpiece such as a sheet or strip.